It was late in the third period. The Avs were down 2-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Semyon Varlamov was pulled. Things looked bleak, very bleak. Then, salvation came from the stick of Jan Hejda and the skate of Gabriel Landeskog.

Hejda, in his first game facing his old team, fired a puck from the left point which deflected off the skate of rookie Landeskog for his first NHL goal.

Varlamov was magnificent yet again, making 31 saves, 29 of them coming in the first two periods. He also stopped two of the three Blue Jackets shootout attempts. Matt Duchene and Milan Hejduk would convert on the only shootout attempts the Avs would need.

Varlamov was the only reason that the Avs were even close. For two periods, the Avs were a turnover-happy, the worst from center Jay McClement 10 feet from his own net, team with little offensive flow.

The Avalanche finally turned things on at the last minute to pull the game back to even before winning the game in a shootout, despite a minimal contribution from their top six forwards.

Of the 14 shots taken by the Avs in the first two periods, only four of them were from top six skaters and two of those were from Milan Hejduk. At the end, those same players would have 11 shots.

Since 2003, the Avalanche have been looking for a goalie that can steal them games and two games into this road trip, the Avs certainly have gotten them from Varlamov and a PK that has yet to surrender a goal.

While the offense continues to struggle, the Avs remain competitive thanks to their bigger defense and the outstanding goaltending of Semyon Varlamov.

Three Stars
1. Semyon Varlamov- 31 saves and two stops in the shootout.
2. Jan Hejda- totaled five shots, five hits and was the key to tying the game.
3. Steve Mason- made 30 stops

Facepalm of the Game

Jay McClement giving away the puck right in front of his own goalie wins Facepalm of the Game and is an early leader for Facepalm of the Year.

Bang Bang play of the Game

It took only three games but Gabriel Landeskog has his first goal. Off his stick, off his skate, off his butt. Doesn't matter. A goal is a goal.

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